Monday, January 26, 2009

I have heard from some people that the Game Recap posts on this blog are pointless. Now I am aware that if you want this information, you can get it easily but in addition to it, I will now be posting my analysis of the game. I hope that this sparks some debate and that people will comment. There is always room for improvement on this site and your feedback would be much appreciated. Tell me what you like, what you don't like by sending me an email to: ale1556@aim.com

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

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Last night, the New York Rangers and the Anaheim Ducks played. This was a pretty even game. The Ducks came out into the first playing a very physical game. The first goal of the game was scored by Markus Naslund (91) at 12:46 and was on a power play. The Ducks came back to tie it thanks to Bobby Ryan (54) who scored at 13:45 also on a power play. The first period ended in a tie. Frederick Sjostrom (20) scored short-handed in the 2nd period at 3:22. The Ducks came back to tie it once again thanks to Correy Perry (10) who scored at 18:23. This was the last goal of the second period. The two teams were evenly matched for the second period but the Rangers played a consistent game and took the hits from the Ducks, more aggresive, players. In the third, a power play goal was scored by Scott Gomez (19) of the NYR at 12:39 and for the third and final time, the Rangers led the game. The Ducks pulled their goalie at the final moments of the game allowing for 6 skaters on the ice while the Rangers were short handed making a 6 on 4 power play. Blair Betts (15) scored short-handed on the empty net at 19:26. The Rangers had 30 shots on goal and Lundqvist had 32 saves. The Rangers were 2 for 9 on the power play and killed 6.

Monday, January 19, 2009

This week, the NHL has had to endure two major issues that are at the forefront of hockey's woes: the fighting controversy and player mobility.

Recently, in the OHL, Whitby Dunlops' defenseman Don Sanderson died from head trauma which was incurred during a fight with an opposing player. Immediately, the national media, which rarely covers hockey related stories, pounced on this one and reported it as the prime example of hockey's cruelty. In fact the OHL has announced harsher regulations for fighting, specifically the removal of chinstraps during a brawl. "It's just the evolution of the game and our league," OHL commissioner David Branch said last night. "It's a great message to send to other players and leagues below us." Now, to those devoted fans of the game on ice, we should be outraged at such a reactionary response to one isolated incident. The fact that fighting is central to the progression of a game points to the sport's tradition. Every sport has a trademark and hockey's is fighting. Any measure to diminish physical play will just make the game softer and less enjoyable to the fans, the ones who actually keep the sport close to heart. The more regulations added to the sport from those in management will "de-naturalize" the essence of the game. I know from my personal sense of it, the next time I go to a Ranger game, I ain't leaving until Colton Orr knocks someone out.

Another problem with hockey, and, quite possibly, a barrier to its uprising in the world of sportsmania, is player mobility. Far too many players aren't able to settle in with their team, largely because they move from coast to coast faster than a migrating whale. Take former New York Islanders goalie Wade Dubielewicz. The man who helped lead the now struggling Isles to the playoffs in the '06-'07 season returned to the Island a few days ago, as he was called back from a short stint in the KHL. While skating with coach Scott Gordon on Saturday, Dooby found out that he had been claimed off waivers by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and before you could say,"Potvin Sucks!" the 29 year old netminder was on a plane to Vancouver, where CBJ was playing that night. When interviewed by an Islanders staffer, Dooby sounded bitter about the sudden move, and reminisced about his great time in New York. Unfortunately for Dubielwicz, the shift may be short lived, as Blue Jackets backup Pascal Leclaire is heading back to the team shortly. Now, I ask you, how would you feel flying back from Russia only to find out that you're on your way out to Vancouver? Personally, I know that if I returned to a team that I was an integral part of only to discover that I've been let go, I'd be outraged. Moving a player constantly places a burden on his family, and in this case, the player should have more of a say. In a world where the player is rendered powerless, sports slavery ensues, and that ain't good for hockey as a whole. If he's up on waivers again, Dubielwicz better be picked up by the Isles. Lord knows they could use his netminding this year.

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Today, the Rangers and Penguins played at Melon Arena. This game did not end well for the Rangers at all. The Penguins dominated throughout most of the game. This led to them scoring 3 goals on King Henrik. This loss led to an end to the Rangers 3 game winning streak. Chris Minard (14), Tyler Kennedy (48) and Petr Sykora (17) scored the game goals. The Rangers had 33 shots on goal but couldn't get anything passed Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins scored their third and final goal of the game on a power play. They are 1 for 6 on the power play. The Rangers had 3 power play opportunities.

The Rangers had many opportunities to make up the difference. Unfortunately, the Rangers had a breakdown in offense and could not do much to get into the other zone. They became desperate and started taking any shot they could. This idea has the potential to score points but nothing beats a good quality shot. Hopefully, the Rangers will do better against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

So, as many hockey fans know, the New York Rangers and the Chicago Black Hawks played last night in Chicago. This was probably one of the most annoying games in the season. The game was interrupted constantly. The referees kept making calls for hooking, slashing, fighting, misconduct and many more. Most of these calls, upon review of the take, were not noticeable even. The Rangers played with a penalty for a total of about 32 minutes. That means, the Black Hawks had more than half the game as at least a power play. The Black Hawks racked up about 21 minutes of penalties. It is unbelievable that the Rangers pulled off a win.Drury (23) and Dubinsky (17) scored the goals of the game for the rangers. Jonathan Toews (19) scored the first goal of the game for Chicago. Kris Versteeg (32) and Brian Campbell (51) got the assist on that goal. It was a tip in. This put the rangers down one for the rest of the period and some of the second. Drury scored on a power play at 06:24 in the 2nd period and tied up the game. Michal Roszival (3) and Scott Gomez (19) got the assists on that goal. In the 3rd period, Brandon Dubinsky scored an amazing goal thanks to Lauri Korpikoski (29) and Nikolai Zherdev (13) at 07:58. This goal was truly unbelievable, Korpikoski is heading down the right side of Nikolai Khabibulin (39) and ends up falling while faking the shot so that he passes it latterally to Dubinsky who takes the shot on the empty space scoring the goal. Chicago tied it up after a power play goal by Brent Seabrook (7) assisted by Cam Barker (25) and Johnathan Toews. There were no other goals in regulation. The tied game went into overtime and led to a power play goal by non other than Chris Drury. At 02:23 in to OT, Drury scored on a power play assisted by Wade Redden and Michal Roszival. This ended the game.Another good thing about the game, besides the win for the New York Rangers, was that the stadium recorded 22,624 people in attendance. That is the highest number in attendance at a Black Hawks game for a long time. It is great to see that a great sport like hockey could still attract so many fans. Lately, these numbers have been falling, but seeing this just brings hope to fans that hockey still has a chance.

Friday, January 16, 2009

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